I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 212

The sand ship quickly passed by. In the blink of an eye, the Mummy Jellyfish that had been waiting for prey was already out of sight.

Li Luo was still staring at the electronic screen in her hands in a daze. After coming back to her senses, she closed the electronic screen.

What marvelous yet terrifying creatures.

The ocean was the cradle that nurtured life, full of unknowns—especially since this was the sea within the Abyss.

The sand ship hadn’t traveled far when Mo Ling saw all kinds of creatures:

Giant sharks with mouths full of sharp teeth and massive bodies, hunting purely through size suppression.

Strange fish that shuttled between sand waves and ocean, simultaneously having fins and limbs.

Blue water-like seaweed that covered the entire sea area, its color completely blending with the sea, completely invisible unless you looked carefully, with soft poisonous spines on its surface.

There were also striped sea snakes living in the poisonous spine seaweed. Though they were in water, their bodies were covered in feathers, advancing while spinning.

…

During the sand ship’s journey, they also encountered some creatures that attacked the sand ship.

Some barnacle-like creatures unknowingly attached tightly to the hull, constantly drilling.

To deal with this situation, the sand ship activated the central hourglass again, and the entire hull began emitting buzzing vibrations.

A repulsive force instantly covered the sand ship’s surface, cleaning off all these barnacles completely.

But after discovering they couldn’t damage the hull at all, these creatures would all slink away dejectedly.

The sand ship was surrounded by many small Spiral Turtles following along. They seemed to have discovered that the sand ship could break through “roadblocks,” so staying nearby was relatively safer.

These lucky ones had won the first gamble of their lives. Many more gambles awaited them in the future.

Before long, the sand above began to gradually thin out.

The light grew brighter and brighter, and the sand waves’ speed was also slowing. It seemed they weren’t far from their destination.

Dazzling sunlight fell from above, causing a moment of dizziness.

After about half an hour, Captain He’s voice rang out again:

“Congratulations everyone on reaching the Abyss Third Layer, the Infinite Sea.”

“Preparing to exit the sand waves.” In the broadcast, Captain He’s tone remained relaxed and casual.

Sure enough, before long, the last bit of sand waves pushed the sand ship onto a calm sea surface, then slowly retreated in the direction they had come from.

The sand ship drifted forward with inertia—this process continued for a long time.

When they came to their senses, sunlight had filled the cabin, and a fresh sea breeze blew from the distance.

“Entry point is safe. Everyone can breathe some fresh air now.”

Accompanied by his words, the upper half of the sand ship’s hull slowly opened.

Just as Captain He had said, fresh air flowed into the cabin, dispersing the stuffy smell.

The rippling water surface gently swayed. The sea here seemed very calm. Some advance team members had already walked to the highest platform and began stretching their bodies.

Li Luo also followed the crowd up to the platform.

Sea waves gently lapped against the hull. The sand ship floated stably in the sea—at this moment, the sand ship was more like a real “ship.”

The small Spiral Turtles around the sand ship also dove into the sea one after another, disappearing without a trace.

These advance team members mostly had experience riding sand ships. This voyage wasn’t particularly novel for them, but conversation never ceased on the platform:

“This voyage was very smooth. We didn’t encounter any terrifying creatures. I still find that abyssal whale we met last time scary just thinking about it.”

“Yeah, the entry point is also very calm. This seems to be a confirmed shipping route, Captain He only took half an hour to determine our position.”

“Captain He is an old crew member, so of course he’s fast at determining position. But I remember this place too, it’s quite a peaceful sea area.”

“Really? Where is this?”

“Should be the shipping route between Glass Island Base and Merman Island, right? We’re right on the route. Maybe we’ll see ships from Glass Island Base soon.”

“This maiden voyage went very smoothly. With such a good entry point for Oasis City’s port, it’ll definitely be bustling in the future.”

“I’m planning to be a permanent crew member at Oasis City from now on…”

These advance team members all had relaxed smiles on their faces. They were probably all satisfied with this smooth voyage.

Sea wind blew across the sand ship. Li Luo passed through the crowd and came to the edge, leaning against the railing and looking into the distance.

Li Luo with her giant cube quickly attracted other people’s attention.

As soon as she reached the platform’s edge, she was approached by a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses.

“Is this your first time coming to the Abyss Third Layer?” He seemed to see at a glance that Li Luo was a newcomer.

“That’s right.” Li Luo nodded. “How do you know?”

“Your nameplate hasn’t changed yet, Level 2 Hunter.” The sunglasses-wearing man pointed at Li Luo’s nameplate.

“…”

Li Luo fell silent.

“What are you coming to the Abyss Third Layer for?” the sunglasses-wearing man asked curiously.

“To go to the Abyss Fourth Layer.”

“What are you going to the Abyss Fourth Layer for?”

“To descend to the Abyss Fifth Layer.”

“…”

Now it was the sunglasses-wearing man who was speechless.

“Alright, you want to go down to the bottom of the Abyss, right?” The sunglasses-wearing man finally understood. “Young people really have drive.”

To ease the awkwardness, the sunglasses-wearing man pointed to the sea level on one side and said to Li Luo, “If you want to go to the Abyss Fourth Layer, you might need to leave early.”

“Why?” Hearing the man’s words, Li Luo was somewhat puzzled.

“The shipping routes are like this,” the man explained to Li Luo.

The Abyss Third Layer was very large. Humans still hadn’t discovered the boundaries of this abyssal sea.

Humanity’s exploration of the Abyss Third Layer was also only at a very limited stage.

Humans explored the Abyss Third Layer through designated shipping routes. These shipping routes were like tree branches, with main trunks and offshoots.

Generally speaking, island bases would be set up at the starting nodes of different route branches, facilitating connections and coordination between different routes.

But the passages to the Abyss Fourth Layer were mostly distributed at the ends of different branches.

Going to nodes and going to branch endpoints were two different directions.

“After sand ships enter the sea, the first priority is to go to island bases. If you want to go to route endpoints, you have to leave early, or else you’ll have to backtrack,” the sunglasses-wearing man patiently explained.

“So I need to go in the direction of Merman Island?” Li Luo understood and asked for confirmation.

The sunglasses-wearing man nodded. “Yes, sand ships must report to Glass Island Base, but they’ll also contact ships first to send some people in another direction. The current temporary stop should be for making contact.”

Sure enough, before the man finished speaking, the broadcast rang out again, “The ship bound for Merman Island is approaching. Those going to Merman Island please prepare to transfer ships in advance.”

The sunglasses-wearing man pointed to a small dot in the distance. “Should be a transport ship between Glass Island and Merman Island. What a coincidence.”

He smiled at Li Luo. “Go pack your things first.”

Li Luo quickly thanked him and returned to her room to pack…

Before long, the broadcast announced again that the ship had arrived.

When Li Luo came to the ship transfer passage, Captain He was already standing there, chatting with the transport ship’s captain.

“We just arrived not long ago. What a coincidence, you were in the area.”

The captain smiled and waved his hand. “It’s not a coincidence. The mermen have been trading a lot of things with us recently. I’ve been running back and forth on this route lately. As soon as I heard the notice, I rushed over. It’s quite close.”

“Did something happen?” Captain He asked in confusion.

“Their traditional festival is coming up. Seems like they want to celebrate in a big way, so they have quite a demand for supplies.”

“Traditional festival?”

“Yes, I think it’s called… Sea Moon Ceremony?”